High-power pulsers, which deliver peak power in excess of 1000 watts at voltages above 1000 volts, can include an energy storage device and an impedance switching device. The switching device is often the device that limits the pulser capability. In one example, a high current passing through an inductor and a switching device, creates a voltage across the switching device which rapidly increases when the resistance of the switching device increases. However, where high voltages on the order of magnitude of 100 KV are to be generated at moderate to high current levels, a large and costly switching device may be required. A switching device which could be used at high voltage and current levels, which was relatively compact and of simple construction, would be of considerable value.
There are various approaches to the production of short rise-time pulses of high energy electrons, used to create pulses of x-rays, laser beams, and microwaves. One approach involves charging a bank of capacitors, and then closing a switch to apply the capacitor voltage across a pair of electrodes. This requires a high voltage source to charge the capacitors, a cumbersome bank of capacitors, and a switch to operate at high voltage. Another approach is to establish a current through an inductor (whose energy storing capacity is about two orders of magnitude higher than a capacitor bank of the same size), and through a closed switch, with a diode connected in parallel with the switch. When the switch is opened, the current passes through the diode, whose higher impedance results in a high voltage across the diode. The high voltage also appears across the switch as it is opened, which reduces switch life. Also, stray inductances along the conductors coupling the diode electrodes to opposite sides of the switch, oppose a rapid rise of current through the diode and reduce the voltage across the diode and the energy of the electrons. A pulser for generating pulses of high energy electrons, which was compact, of long life, and of relatively simple design would also be of considerable value.